Wireless communications enable the transfer of data between two or more end points or communication units. In some cases the communication units are mobile devices, base stations, wireless access points, cell phones, smart phones, computers or other similar devices. Communication between two devices is typically governed by a protocol. Some examples of wireless protocols include IEEE 802.11, the Bluetooth Special Interest Group protocol, Zigbee™, WiMax, CDMA 2000™, Long Term Evolution (LTE) set forth by 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and others.
Protocols oftentimes define states to describe a mode of operation of a communication unit. For example, the LTE protocol defines at least two communication units, a user equipment (UE) that can be a cell phone and a network (NW) that can be reached through a base station (often referred to as an enhanced node B or eNodeB). The protocol goes on to name at least two states for the UE: 1) radio resource control (RRC) connected and 2) RRC idle. In the RRC idle state, the UE has not established a communication channel with the NW; the UE is not actively transferring data with the NW. In contrast, in the RRC connected state a communication channel has been established between the UE and the NW and data can be transferred between the UE and the NW.
Since data can only be transferred when the UE is in the RRC connected state, the NW oftentimes tracks the state of the UE to ensure that the UE can receive messages and data. If the NW loses track of the operating state of the UE, data transfer can be stalled or the UE can become unresponsive detracting from the user experience.
Therefore, what is desired is a reliable way to track the operational mode of the UE and avoid operating conditions that can adversely affect the overall user experience.